Guild Wars 2 Beta Previews

We have a couple of new previews for ArenaNet’s sequel to Guild Wars, both based on some time spent with the title during the press beta.

NZGamer has two editors going back and forth on it:

Mike: I was impressed with the graphics and the amount of thought that had been placed into the starting areas of the game. Although the world is huge, I never felt I was having to travel long distances to get to my next mission or quest. The Char area was awesome and (Charry), if there was such a word, would be best the best way to describe its design. Surprisingly too, the cities and quest areas felt they were alive. Stories of intrigue and desperation, lots of action, and the cities especially were huge. I wasted hours of precious game time just exploring the Char city.

Cameron: The towns are a lot bigger than in the first game, and there are a lot more merchants and people to talk to. I got lost a few times but what I really liked is that when you go outside now, you share the world with all the other players.

Mike: I really like how they have done the game world. The mixture of shared play areas, public events and personal instances is well done. Add to this the well thought-out quests and the whole play experience was very compelling. The most jaded of MMO players will appreciate how they have handled this aspect of the game and how smooth the transitions are.

I also liked how the fights went. With a lot of MMOs today, the starting areas are generally a cake walk and the only times it can get tough is at high level and in instances. Not so with GW2. You really have to keep your wits about you and, more often than not, I found myself fighting well above my class. It was a good challenge and will go a long way towards removing the early level grind for most people.

While GameTrailers has their customary video preview.